An off-the-pace longshot made a winner of longtime Grand River Raceway patron Dave Purdy in the track’s first qualifying round of the 'Winter Wednesdays Handicapping Tournament.'

Purdy had a bankroll of just $13.50 after five of the six-race contest on January 16. He banked on some longshot magic to propel him to the top with his final selection — horse six in Race 7 at the Meadows Racetrack.

His pick was Ready To Work, a recent import from Indiana. The six-year-old pacer’s last win was nine starts back, in August of 2012. On Wednesday night, he was 70-1, making his Meadows pari-mutuel debut after qualifying at the Pennsylvania track a week prior. Starting from Post 6, he remained at the back of the pack until the final turn, when pilot Mike Wilder stepped on the gas, and the pair came on to win by a neck over Shams Big Guy and the pacesetting favourite, Red Star Paylater.

Ready To Work paid $140.80 to win and $47.80 to place, boosting Purdy’s contest bankroll to $202.10. For his win in the contest qualifier, the resident of Guelph, Ont. received $100.

The top 10 finishers in each of the 10 legs of the contest advance to the $4,000 final on March 27.

Purdy has been a fan of harness racing for over 30 years and used to own and train standardbreds. He prefers to wager on pacers (versus trotters) and while he’s a fairly astute handicapper, when it comes to numbers, post position three is his usual fallback. His favourite track is Mohawk Racetrack, and he cashed his biggest ticket of all-time at Woodbine Racetrack for $3,300.

January 23 is Round 2 of the Winter Wednesdays Handicapping Tournament. Patrons can play for free at Grand River Raceway and its OTB site, The Bettor Club, in Kitchener, Ont.

Complete rules and regulations are available on the Grand River Raceway website.

(GRR)